From gold diggers to gold fish!

The short jokes and captivating stories to keep guests at a cocktail party from getting bored now rings true for content marketing as well. The internet age has significantly cut down a web user’s attention span. Like guests at a party they seek to be constantly entertained, never by the same thing and never for too long.

Whether the time is one second or eight, the truth is – landing pages only have a moment to capture a user’s attention. Gold diggers once had to work for several hours without stopping to get to the bottom of a pot of gold, however, internet users barely dig through the internet, much like a gold fish – for eight seconds.

What does this mean for the future of content marketing?

Innovative marketers need to know what and how to captivate, and maintain user attention by understanding what makes a web surfer stay on a page longer. Inundating clients with information only leads to the viewers to be distracted and move on to something much simpler, less busy and clutter free. As a rule of thumb, “say less to say more” approach is very effective. It’s very easy to follow what Kim Kardashian wore to the red carpet than an elaborated explanation of climate change. Something visually interesting is also a good “click-bait”.

Mark Bauerlein wrote in his book, about his fear of the internet developing a “brazen disregard of books and reading. In this day and age, users find it easier to connect to visual content and it helps to touchtheir emotional side. This is a daunting task and poses danger to website developers. They have toconstantly produce fresh and unique content to keep a user with them long enough for a full communication. Streamlining the content is also important. The message of a company’s brand or slogan should be short and on the money, too much text on a page can be tiring to the eyes let alone become interesting. Negative or white space on a page lets the readers’ eyes rest, hence make them more likely to stay on a page longer.

Impact of graphical design

If all else fail, the power of a quality graphical design seldom disappoint. Whether the user stare at it for a minute or half, people who come to your site can get a good idea of your company through a quality home page. This is where your most important messages should be. Don’t make users scour for them, 30% of consumers start to abandon website if they are too slow or does not contain key information. Giving users what they exactly want at the very beginning can convince users they are on the right site.